3 Powerful Local Elected Officials

School districts have 95,000 total elected officials. Towns have over 126,000. And cities have over 135,000. These local officials aren’t often featured in national media. Their work is often rote and mundane compared to the drama of Washington, D.C. But consider this: your school, your roads, laws regulating small businesses, and much more are all directed and decided by local officials.

These local officials sometimes manage billions of dollars of government spending, impact local industries and causes, and set the direction of their communities. It makes sense that, when appropriate, they should be targets of your advocacy campaigns.

While advocating to federal officials is certainly important, don’t forget that local officials can influence your industry or cause. Here are three examples of elected officials who you may not have heard of before, but are powerful influencers and should be part of advocacy campaigns.

The Commission, which operates more like an agency than a political body despite its officials being elected, has a surprising amount of power. Their rulemaking authority ranges from regulating business and industry to establishing environmental protections.

If you’re in Texas and want to engage advocates on energy or environmental issues, then you should include this Commission in your campaigns.

2. Clark County Commission, Nevada

In Nevada, a local county commission has arguably more power than the state legislature.

A large portion of the land surrounding the Vegas strip is unincorporated. Without any municipal presence, all oversight in the region goes to the Clark County Commission. Since the Vegas strip is the largest source of income for the state, the Commission oversees the largest budget in the state—a $1.3 billion budget.

In addition to their official power as the governing body of these unincorporated areas, the Commission serves ex officioas the governing bodies of the Las Vegas Valley Water District, Clark County Water Reclamation District, University Medical Center of Southern Nevada, Big Bend and Kyle Canyon water districts, and the Clark County Liquor and Gaming Licensing Board.

Every business, organization, and trade or professional association in that area should target them as a part of their advocacy efforts. This is especially true on issues that affect business, water, gaming, or healthcare regulations.

3. Iowa Secretary of State

State Secretaries of State have traditionally been nonpartisan, nonpolitical figures. Their duties usually include overseeing state elections and other miscellaneous tasks.

But since the controversy of the 2000 presidential election, Secretaries of State have become more politicized. Now people are focused not only on the candidates, but on the people who control the election process.

Iowa votes first in the presidential primaries—influencing which candidates stay in the race for the remainder of the process—and is a swing state in the general election. Recently, there’s been a surprising amount of coverage around their election for Secretary of State. This one elected official sets the rules for Iowa elections, and those policy decisions can impact election outcomes—even unintentionally.

In the other forty-nine states, it is important for organizations who advocate for voter rights, voter protections, or increased voter integrity to focus on their Secretaries of State or other electoral authorities.

While you build your advocacy campaigns, don’t forget that while federal officials get the most attention, some of these local elected officials can have influence on your industry or cause. Make sure that your advocacy efforts are all that they can be; connect your advocates with these officials and watch real change—substantive, long-term change—happen.